Tag Archives: Management

Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) programs are a common starting point for many systems related to the focus on an athlete centred approach to training. LTAD programs generally look at a longer-term approach to the development of the athlete so there is more consistency across a range of areas such as technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological development. With this mindset however, there are some problems that are commonly faced by programs and organisations wishing to implement this strategy.

With a longer commitment to development there also needs to be a greater amount of resources available over a longer term. This seems obvious, but asking coaches, administrators, parents, and athletes to make this commitment can be a significant drain of energy and goodwill. Both of which are vital to a programs ongoing success and standing within the sporting community.

Planning

The off the court planning is just as important as what happens on court with an LTAD program. Taking time and energy to develop and refine a program leads to better decisions and outcomes for everyone involved. Planning though can be overlooked and corners cut in mapping the different stages of development as well as other aspects of a LTAD such as athlete/coach inductions, fitness testing and individualised program plans.

Record Keeping

LTAD requires an approach that has athletes constantly being worked towards the next level in their development. This requires an accurate picture to be taken about what each individual’s current level is, how fast they are progressing and what they are deficient/competent in. This information needs to be compiled and recorded so it can be easily reference and analysed. Unfortunately, some programs see this side of their sports management as not being important, which ultimately has an adverse effect on the athlete’s progression. With poor records, come poor decisions in regards to LTAD.

Within the philosophy of LTAD is the focus on injured players recovering and becoming stronger then what they were before so they never experience the same injury again (Photo Source: jmrosenfeld)

Injury Management

Injuries or the risk of them, are a constant for athletes. Nevertheless, when an athletes does have an injury often the management of that situation is vital in returning a players as quickly as safe to do so and also limiting the exposure to further problems into the future as a result of a reoccurring weakness.

Within a LTAD program this long-term view is a given, but having access to the right professionals and allied health services is only the initial starting point. Access is a basic characteristic of any program, but within the LTAD philosophy this recovery period needs to be managed more specifically so the player’s ongoing treatment and recovery, as well as strengthening later on as a preventative measure will be planned for and managed. In many programs once the acute aspects of an injury have been overcome, often the athletes is left to make their own way back to full health. This is not the case with an LTAD program and management should be a partnership between the athletes and the programs staff over a longer period.

Coaching Staff

Because of the time commitments over a greater length of time it is often thought that coaches will simply make the longer commitment. This however might be the case initially, but with time will come distractions or changes in personal circumstance.

Not only should a program have the most experienced coaches involved as needed, but underpinning these individuals will need to be the next wave of possible program coaches forming part of a succession plan. These coaches will then fill gaps created and continue the line of development for the players within the program that is a strength of the LTAD program. This type of strategy promotes a program culture, definable identity, and consistent feel to the program.

Mentors

Program mentors are more than just the head of the program or the lead coach. They help motivate the players, coaches, parents and other individuals involved in LTAD. Young and old, players will lose their focus from time to time. If there is not follow-up with these individuals, one missed practice might turn into two, and that number might gradually grow until the distance from the programs is so great that the individual in question no longer sees the value of the time and effort put in.

A mentor will follow up with a player each, and every week. If a player misses a training session this contact time will need to be shortened so the athletes knows they have value within the program. Coaches and others involved within the program should all be treated the same as this promotes solidarity with the group supporting the LTAD program.

Time

The final resource that needs to be provided to a LTAD program is time. The influence of time on a program comes in many different shapes and sizes. Athlete development within different stages might be slow and take longer than expected. This is all part of the give and take of a LTAD program, as at other periods the development may become accelerated.

Time will also need to be a key ingredient in the very early stages of an athlete’s physiological development. Tuning an athlete’s body into a capable tool to meet the demands of a sport can be a lengthy process, but one that will be beneficial in the areas of injury prevention and the components of fitness specific to a sport.

LTAD is a fantastic concept that provides a pathway for players to follow in their own development through their chosen sport. Problems discussed above though can limit the potential benefits of LTAD to each individual.

Tournament Play can be very challenging for players because of the sheer number of games condensed into a small amount of time so Recovery will play a significant part in a team’s winning formula. With this in mind, early preparation when it comes to planning a groups recovery sessions will be the key. Failing to plan will leave a team with no access to the most desirable facilities or equipment when recovering and this can hamper the process, waste valuable time and just generally lower performance over the course of the tournament.

Playing Schedule

The most important step in planning the recovery of a team is to find out the playing schedule. This will help define how much time is available and as a consequence, what types of recovery sessions can be implemented. For example if there is only a minimum amount of time between games, leaving the venue to drive for a recovery session might not be the best use of time or practical.

Some facilities will have fantastic pool facilities for holidays, but these can make planning recovery sessions a little more challenging (Photo Source: Tim Parkinson)

Accommodation

Not all accommodation is created equal. Some accommodation will offer a greater array of facilities than others will. When researching accommodation it is important to know what types of recovery sessions are likely to be used. A colder climate might make using an outside pool not possible, so finding an accommodation location that has an indoor or heated pool will be necessary.

Location, Location, Location

Accommodation with excellent facilities is one thing, it is another however if you have to drive an hour from the venue to get there. Taking the time to find the right location for accommodation will be a balancing act with also meeting the facilities needs of the team with regards to recovery sessions. Throw into this mix, budget restrictions and the challenge can be quite daunting for any individual. It is best in these cases to involve all the support and coaching staff as this will allow everyone to voice their opinion and a consensus to be reached.

Sometimes having more people involved can be a hindrance to the decision making process. However, when everyone is focused on the goal at hand, like performance. Then different perspectives can provide some unique solutions to challenges faced.

Allied Medical Services

Understanding what needs to be done during a normal recovery session helps a team maintain their competitiveness and perform more consistently over an extended length of time. When a player picks up an injury, then the challenge can be very difficult in an unfamiliar place. Having a list of general practitioners, sports doctors, physiotherapists, and sports massage within the competitions area will be of great help for when things go off the tracks in regards to injuries.

When visiting a location put in a call ahead of time to speak with the people who provide these services. In many cases if you explain your situation and context of being a visiting sports team these individuals will allow for flexibility in consultation times and after hours call outs.

A very important service which will need to be addressed is access to sports strapping. Some competitions will provide this service free, others for a fee and some not at all. Team preparation must include working out how every individual will deal with this problem. This is too an important aspect to just rebuff that it is the players responsibility.

Session Planning

Recovery sessions can come in a variety of different activities. To help keep these sessions fresh and as a by-product your athletes on task, try having a few different sessions to rotate through. If in doubt, about what could be included into a session consult your local physiotherapist or exercise physiologist.

Recovery sessions will help a team’s performance. There is no question that it plays a part in helping players and teams perform at the best possible standard for longer. Gambling that services will be available will only service to magnify issues when they happen. Planning well ahead of time and thinking about how certain issues like injuries will be dealt with, is the best option, but not always the easiest.

Talent within any program is always a point of focus. Whether it is through recruiting the right pieces of the puzzle or developing those that talent within a program that already exist. No program can afford not to have talented athletes within their ranks and expect to have lasting success. Recruiting is seen by many people as the easy way out for programs with significant resources, they can just buy in the required skill sets missing. However, for those programs not rich in these resources then development is the only option. The irony is though, if a program is successful through implementing a policy of development, it will find that players, coaches, officials and administrators all gravitate to its door so they too can be part of the success.

Harnessing talent to create a pipeline through a program’s various facets is not an easy task. There are a number of different and very specific elements that need to all be put into place for the development cycle to take hold and then continue to enrich the players that move through its process.

In the beginning focus on the quality of the talent being developed within a program, not the quantity. Employing this philosophy will lead the program building and having lasting legacy of success (Photo Source: Dave Gillem)

Philosophy

Before anything else can be developed there must be a defining of the purpose of the program. This involves describing the desired outcomes and the strategies put in place to achieve these. Adding details to the technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological standards that are wanted within the program and bench marked for ongoing development is vital.

Involved in the description of the philosophy of a program will be interwoven planning around how the program is to be conducted, resources available and overall guidelines (budget, facilities, age groups, competitions, etc.) on how the program will operate.

Getting the philosophy around the purpose of a program and how talent is to be shaped and developed is very important right from the start. While not set in stone, things can always be changed, but the variation in philosophy is one of the reasons people often leave programs or the good progress stalls. This can cause conflict and end up pulling a program apart. Commitment to a philosophy while undertaking evolution, rather and revolution, is important vision to developing the right culture for an evergreen program.

Coaching

The most influential parts of developing talent is found within the cornerstone of coaching. Having knowledgeable coaches within a program allow every player to advance.

Another aspect of coaching will be to have the right number of coaches to meet the needs of a program. While most programs will if their honest, state they will never have enough coaches, usually they can get by as long as everyone is pulling in the same direction.

A point of confusion when discussing coaching is that the coaches all have to be of the highest level. This is not the case. While having experience is very important, it is not the exclusive quality that a program requires of its coaches to be successful. Other attributes associated with a programs collective coaching ranks include consistency in philosophy, commitment to the development theme and a willingness to commit time to the process. These attributes can be found in an individual, but can exist and still provide benefit when shared amongst the core group of coaches within a program. An inexperienced or apprentice coach should not be seen as a weakness within a program, but an opportunity to harness energy and intensity to help spur on the talent development. When partnered with a mentor, a junior coach can make significant gains because of their willingness to learn and adapt.

Facilities

A key point will be looking at the facilities currently available to a program. From this point, additional needs be identified and addressed. In some cases where there is a shortage of space for trainings there might a need for two teams to share a court, or for a team to have one training session inside and another outside so every team is able to train at least once a week indoors.

Not having access to good or facilities of standard is not the end to the development of talent. What is does mean is the coaches working within this system must be flexible and adaptive in finding ways around this problem. Changing training times to suit court availability, travelling to suitable venues, fundraising for equipment are all some of the strategies which may need to be employed.

Support Services

Gone are the times of sport being purely focused on the court. Now with advancements in sports sciences, medicine and psychology there are numerous support services which play a part in the development and maintenance of talent. To help develop talent there must be a rounded approach as stated earlier to not only sports specific skills such as technical and tactical, but also the development of the physiological and psychological aspects of the player.

Spreading the load across aspects and varying athlete contact across these services also help engage and keep players focused on achieving their goals more readily. Consistent messages delivered from multiple sources help authentic the importance of the development process to the talented individual.

A talent pipeline is not a given just because all the pieces fit together neatly. Time will still need to be given for players to develop and a program to take hold within the sporting community and the programs individual context. Developing talent requires not just success, but successive successes that when added together lead to a good culture for a program, and good habits for an athlete. Overnight success is never overnight, and many successful programs that we can all see around us have usually been developed through the lifelong commitment of various individuals. Individuals that came in early and left late for years and years…

A Team Manager is really the most important person within a program. The Team Manager makes all the logistics that go into the behind the scenes and just general running of a program come together. For many coaches however relying on a single person so much can be challenging and in many ways be difficult as their relationship is one of being a peer unlike all others within the team setting where the coach is the leader in many instances.

This difference in relationship can mean that there are some special challenges faced when working with a Team Manager unlike any other person. So with the added weight of the responsibility around this position, it can be quite challenging in some ways for a coach to get the most from the Team Manager especially if there are issues that arise throughout the course of a season. Below are some simple ways a coach can go about building a good foundation so when issues do arise they can be dealt with, worked out and moved through as quickly as possible.

Providing a checklist for a Team Manager is a really good way of communicating what things need to get done (Photo Source: Oregon Department of Transportation)

Communication

Probably the most common issue around the Team Manager position is communication. Either too much, or not enough in some instances. No matter the concern the most beneficial approach is to talk through the expectations around action associated with communication that the coach would like to see happen. Being clear about what type of communication should happen, and when, is a very common frustration experienced by coaches.

It is worth noting that some Team Manager will prefer to use different methods of communication as opposed to others. Understanding that a different form of communication does not necessarily mean a less satisfactory outcome is also important to realise. It should always be discussed however with a team what their preference is in receiving information. For some people the best form of communication is a direct call.

Training Sessions

Training sessions like each different activity a team is involved with will have a unique set of demands for a Team Manager. Not every coach will operate in the same way. Some coaches for instance see a training session as being very much their time to hold court and so therefore do not really need a Team Manager to attend (especially in junior development teams). This situation however often changes as players’ progress into representative programs or older age groups. Then the expectations can be quite different with coaches also expecting the Team Manager to bring certain skills like strapping to the range of services provided in support of a team. If a Team Manager does not have these skills then sometimes formal training will be required.

Game Day Preparations

On Game Day, most coaches will have a preference as to how they would like the days schedule to come together. How long before a game should players arrive, how is the room to be set-up for the team meeting and when should players be dressed are just a sample of the different points which need to be communicated between a coach and the Team Manager. Taking the time to discuss these matters in detail can avoid any issues from happening.

As a coach it is probably worth noting here that sometimes preferences will change and situations will demand an alternative strategy. Always be mindful of discussing these changes in need with a Team Manager so they are always kept in the loop.

A Team Manager is a very valuable asset to the operations of any team or program. The common mistake made is that often coaches just assume that how they want things done, is how everybody does them.

Leadership on the court can take many different forms (Photo Source: U.S. Army)

Having good Sports Leaders are vital for a team’s success. They help create a beneficial atmosphere for not only players, but coaches and everyone else connected to a team. Sports Leaders help build a bridge between a coach and the team. Instantly providing an accelerated path to developing trust and respect for a coach, while being able to tactfully voice the fears and concerns of the individual players or team as a whole. Good sports leaders display a number of different traits and a coach should be aware of, and encourage these within players they see as having potential to develop the awareness and understanding necessary to fill this role.

As a point of note, effective sports leaders do not necessarily have to hold the position of Team Captain to be able to display the traits listed below. All players can display characteristics of good sports leaders and must be encouraged to do so. Leadership is not a gift, but a skill to be cultivated.

The first characteristic associated with good sports leaders is they inclusive, not exclusive when it comes to fostering a bond between team members. They must be able to see worth in each and every person within the group and associate a place for everyone within the team dynamic. Not everyone will want to be heard, but everyone must have the right and opportunity to speak.

The second characteristic is to think critically. Critical thinking is the ability to not only identify a problem or issue, but be aware of different possibilities or options which can bring about a solution, then choose the most appropriate possibility. This does not mean a good sports leader is always right, but they follow a process that lends itself to the best outcome more often than not.

Another characteristic of good sports leaders is a high sports specific intelligence. Many leaders are not always the most gifted technical player on a team, in fact in some instances this can be a distraction to the leadership role. They do however need to understand and be able to interpret the flow of the game. This Sport IQ also helps good sports leaders in interpreting coach directions.

Additionally good sports leaders are doers, not just talkers. The skill of communicating while important is often over sold. Also overstated is the technical skill and fundamental physical abilities of a leader. Nevertheless, one thing a leader cannot be, is only a mouth on the court or field. A good sports leader must always be the most eager player within the team. They should be the first to training, the first to step forward during demonstrations and the first to inspire others to give more to help the team.

A good sports leader must be balanced in their emotions and behaviour. For many sports teams having an emotion element as part of their warm-up is important getting ready. What is not beneficial however is when this emotion clouds the group’s performance on the floor and results in mistakes or something worse. A leader must look to even out this highly emotional times to give a benefit to the team without a negative or hazard. This requires the player to be always in control of their emotions, focused on the task at hand, and able to communicate this to their teammates.

Good sports leaders can improve a team’s performance, but is constantly understated. Any coach who has ever had a team with a good leader, will forever more be looking for another player in every team they coach to fill this vital role.